Virginia Department of Corrections v. Clark

The dispositive question in this habeas corpus appeal is whether trial counsel’s representation of James T. Clark, Jr., during the penalty phase of his capital murder trial, constituted ineffective assistance of counsel.

I

On August 29, 1978, a jury convicted Clark of capital murder for willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing for hire, Code § 18.2-31(b). Following a separate penalty proceeding, pursuant to Code § 19.2-264, the jury determined that Clark’s conduct in committing the offense was “outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman in that it involved depravity of mind or…